My Philosophy of Teaching

Westminster Choir College November 2014

Author Note

Omar Soto, Music Education, Westminster Choir College.Correspondence concerning this article
should be addressed to Omar Soto, 101 Walnut Lane, Princeton, New Jersey 08540.
E-mail: sotoo@rider.edu

Introduction
Ever since I moved to the US in 2001, my life as a student could be defined by the
principle that has governed the universe for as long as mankind can account for. This principle
was coined by one of the earliest known philosophers, Hiraclitus, when he stated that the only
thing that is constant is change. Moving from place to place constantly, meeting new people at
an alarmingly fast pace, and not developing a sense of permanence and constance, I developed
various ideas on education based on the numerous teachers, cultures, and perspectives I was
exposed to. From first grade, all the way into my sophomore year of undergraduate studies, I
have been exposed to some of the best, and some of the worst teachers imaginable. My second
grade teacher, for example, I would regard as poor teacher because the only way to solve math
problems was by following her method. Additionally, the only way to read stories and absorb
critical information in order to prove that a student had attained mastery of the subject matter
was by following her method. And if you had not already figured, the only way to do much of
anything in life was to do things as she had commanded. I vividly remember parent meetings that
would all go something like this:
Mrs. Soto, my problem with Omar is that he is getting all of the answers correctly, but
he isnt showing me the box method for multiplication. He wont be able to do more difficult
math if he doesnt show his work or the equally memorable and overly ridiculous Omar was
reading a book in the middle of class and when I asked him a question about todays lesson, he
answered it (correctly, mind you,) and went back to reading his book. This type of behaviour is
unacceptable because if Omar can do it, the other kids might think its ok for everyone to read in

class. I will admit that it might not have been the best idea to blatantly show to the teacher how
disengaged I was from her lectures, but in my defense, there was no other possible way for me to
survive that class without death by suffocating boredom than to immerse myself in a book. The
structure of my second grade gen. ed class resembled that of a dictatorship ran with an iron-clad
fist by the one we called teacher. As a collective student body, my second grade class was
consistently silenced if they questioned why something was the way it was or if they found that
the learning model did not suit their understanding and asked for a different avenue in order to
grasp the concepts being taught. The late great poet, Maya Angelou once said that people will
forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made
them feel (Bob Kelly, p. 263.) My second grade teacher made me feel confined, she made me
feel silenced, and though she was the most extreme case, she was not the only teacher that kept
me and other students without a voice. Classes like those run rampant throughout schools in
America, and all over the world. I found that regardless of where I moved and what school
district I was placed in, the classroom was, for the most part, synonymous with a place devoid of
expression and individuality. The exceptions to this terrible hegemonic practice, however, where
the best things to have ever happen to me. There is not a true overabundance of classes where I
and my fellow students felt truly comfortable and eager to learn, but when those rare gems reared
themselves into our lives, we truly gained enriching experiences that we will treasure for a
lifetime. Oddly enough, the teachers who taught the good classes, those beacons of light in an
otherwise dreary educational experience, all exhibited some very defining characteristics that
philosophers and critical pedagogues alike acknowledge as paramount to education.

The Teacher as Someone Who Cares

A critical pedagogue whose philosophy of teaching mirrors the statement by Maya
Angelou is Dr. Joan Wink, who in her book, Critical Pedagogy discusses the role of passionate
teaching in the classroom. Like Angelou, wink asserts that love is the legacy that lasts (54.) In
a world where all students bring their unique cultural capital to the classroom, it is imperative for
teachers to adapt an equally unique curriculum based on his/her students and needs.
In his paper entitled A Theory of Human Motivation psychologist Abraham Maslow
established a Hierarchy of needs that must be fulfilled in all human beings before they can reach
a process known as Self-Actualization. For a student, self-actualization refers to the desire for
self-fulfillment, namely, to the tendency for him to become actualized in what he is potentially
(Maslow, 10.) In other words, a student who climbs the hierarchy in order to attain selfactualization is put in a prime state to learn, and to desire to be the best that he/she can be. This is
what education aims to do. We must acknowledge, however, that not every student at school
meets the needs in Maslows hierarchy, and as a result, their learning can be negatively affected.
Some students may come into class hungry, and others might have just had a terrible home
experience, and though it is not the teachers job to directly intervene in his/her students lives, it
is his/her job to bring his/her students into self-actualization.
Beyond the fundamental needs described in Maslows hierarchy, there also exist learning
needs. Since every student is different, different types of teaching should be adopted in order to
cater to a classroom full of unique individuals. These needs are very well mapped in Bernice
Mccarthys book entitled The Learning Cycle, The 21st Century and Millennial learners. In it,
she catalogues 4 different learning styles and explains that every kid fits into the diagram in a
different way. Some kids need a certain stimulus in order to learn, others need a reason to learn,

and others learn from experimenting. Often times, schools cater to only a few of these learners,
and as a result, a large of the class falls behind because their needs arent being met. Because of
this, it is imperative for teachers to take notice and gain insight into their students needs in order
to facilitate a successful learning environment.
The teachers who have had the most positive impact on their students made it a point to
care about every student in their classroom and structure the lesson according to his/her students
needs, rather than simply following a preset curriculum. Additionally, when a teacher cares for
his/her students, an environment of trust can be created. This will do more for a students life
than simply learning something because it will be on the test.

The Teacher as Someone Who Empowers

Critical pedagogy gives voice to the voice-less; gives power to the powerless.
Joan Wink (2010)
In traditional (dated) teaching models, it is thought that the teacher knows all, and the
students know nothing, until they are enlightened by said teacher. This however is not the case.
As previously discussed, every student who walks into a classroom brings with him/her a
plethora of experiences and knowledge known as cultural capital. To discredit that cultural
capital is to rob students of their voice. Paulo Freire discussed in Pedagogy of the Oppressed
that education's main purpose is to empower people. Education should allow the oppressed to
liberate themselves and their oppressors as well (Freire, 44). If teachers cut off the students
ability to grow as a result of their experiences, they become the oppressors, who oppress,
exploit, and rape by virtue of their power, [and] cannot find in this power the strength to liberate
either the oppressed or themselves (Freire 44.) Freire acknowledged that in order to truly
empower students, a teacher should give to them the power of their voices, for human beings

are not built in silence, but in word, in work, in action-reflection (Freire 88.) This revolutionary
take on education sparked a revolution in the philosophy of teaching. Though Freire developed
critical pedagogy in order to teach oppressed brazilian students to read, the implications of his
philosophy carry a large weight even in Americas 21st century education. If a student feels
silenced in the classroom, they lose their sense of belonging and thus the subject matter they are
learning loses its relevance to them. Drawing from Freire's ideas Dr. Frank Abrahams states in
his philosophy of teaching and learning that Good teaching is student-centered. It begins in and
honors the students world (Abrahams, 2005.) By honoring his/her students worlds, a teacher
creates an environment suitable for learning and expression, instead of simply spouting
information that will ultimately lead to the monotonous model known to education as Banking.
Additionally, by empowering his/her students, a teacher will also draw knowledge from them,
and true learning can occur, for good teaching yields transformational experiences for both
students and their teacher (Abrahams, 2005.) When a teacher avoids banking and allows various
avenues for students to find inspiration and learn, he/she breathes a breath of fresh air and
relevance to subject matter that would otherwise be taught simply because it will appear on a
standardized test.
As educational philosopher John Dewey discussed in his pedagogic creed, learning is a
process that begins almost at birth, and is continually shaping the individual's powers, saturating
his consciousness, forming his habits, training his ideas, and arousing his feelings and emotions
(Dewey 1) This means that we as human beings are hardwired to learn, and we should feel the
freedom to do so. Often times, school can seem like the source of learning, when in fact,
according to Dewey, it acts as an organizer that ideally allows the students the tools necessary to
reach their goals. It is the teachers responsibility to strengthen the students resolve and discover

their strengths, since as Dewey stated the only true education comes through the stimulation of
the child's powers (2.) One of the most fulfilling moments in a students lives is that moment
when they realize that the concept they learned in class is not only theirs to keep, but also theirs
to apply to life, for a student will not truly learn something until they can use it. It is the teachers
responsibility to ensure that the students become empowered by the knowledge they have
acquired, because otherwise, that knowledge serves no purpose. In order to facilitate the process
of empowerment, a teacher should be open to the idea that learning is a two way street that
encompasses every students opinion.

The Teacher as an Artist

Educators everywhere should never forget that what they do is an artform. This is true
regardless of what is being taught. This affirmation became very clear to me last year when I
visited the Westminster Choir conducted by Dr. Joe Miller. The choir had been working for a
couple of weeks on, El Nio, their major movement to be sung at the Spoleto festival, so I
figured it would be great to observe their performance preparation in order to understand how
Joe Miller approaches the art of teaching music. I expected to be treated to a simple rehearsal in
which the choir ran through their music. This is what I had grown accustomed to. However, to
my surprise, I walked in on a very intensive character workshop. Joe Miller had hired an acting
coach to help the choir immerse themselves in El Nio, by John Adams, which tells the tale of
a terrible massacre that occurred in Mexico City in which many kid protesters were shot by
government officials. To make matters worse, the very next day, all of the evidence was hidden
away and not a single news site reported the massacre. The acting coach

assigned everyone within the choir a job title such as nurse, reporter, policeman, politician etc.
and divided the members into groups of about 6 people. He then told the groups to discuss
amongst themselves what they or other people within their group could have done to prevent the
horrors that transpired in El Nio. Later, each group had a confrontational dialogue in front of
the whole choir, and many of these groups flung passionate, believable exchanges of dialogue at
each other. You could see the blame, anger, desperation, and sadness that John Adams had
intended for this piece within their faces and their actions. I was in such awe that I decided to
approach Joe Miller as he was studying his score to truly understand his reasoning behind this
character workshop. I asked him what do exercises like these do for the music making? His
answer was a resounding Everything! He further stated that singing with expression and
knowledge of the message being conveyed is taking music from the literal to the spiritual. I did
not need to simply take his word for it because soon after I finished talking with him, he directed
the choir which had, over the course of 1 hour and 30 minutes, embodied the voice for the lost
children whose lives were taken unjustly in the midst of their protest. I had heard them before
this workshop, and the difference in their performance after reaching understanding of their
music was astounding. Additionally, I noticed something very peculiar. That 1 hour and 30
minute session, which has the potential to be exhausting, passed by within the blink of an eye.
The sheer dynamic nature of this rehearsal had engaged both me and the choir members so
much, that even though much progress was made, nobody left that rehearsal feeling overworked
or even remotely tired. Various testimonials given to me by the members of the choir after this
rehearsal gravitated around a similar idea: much was accomplished in an enjoyable manner after
what seemed to have been only an instant. This anecdote further solidifies the idea that education
denotes a means of human expression and in the case of Westminster Choirs El Nio it is

imperative to be as expressive as possible. Whether you are a science, math, history, or music
teacher, being expressive is paramount to captivating students, because if you ardently believe
there is a purpose to what you are teaching, the students will find a purpose for learning it.

Conclusion
In my sophomore year of college, I was asked to draw what I thought was the ideal
music educator. Initially, I thought of the drawing in a superficial way. What does this teacher
wear? What does his/her attire reflect to people observing him/her? It soon became apparent that
the ideal teacher can only be measured by the impact they have had on their students. My second
grade teacher impacted me by giving making me feel small and insignificant, but there have been
teachers who have made me and my fellow peers more enriched individuals because they cared,
empowered, and expressed. That is what I strive to do for my students.

Reference List
Worth Repeating: More Than 5,000 Classic and Contemporary Quotes (2003) by Bob Kelly

A Theory of Human Motivation (1943) by Abraham Maslow

Critical Pedagogy: Notes from the Real World (2010) by Joan Wink

The Learning Cycle, The 21st Century and Millennial Learners (2012) by Bernice Mccarthy

Pedagogy of the Oppressed, (1968) by Paulo Freire

Philosophy of Teaching and Learning, (2013) by Frank Abrahams

http://www.frankabrahams.com/philosophy.html

My Pedagogic Creed (1897) by John Dewey

The School Journal, Vol. LIV, No. 3